How is it December tomorrow? Where has this year gone?!?! I saw a sign at Target or Walmart a few days ago, telling me that it's less than 30 days until Christmas, which absolutely sent me into a tizzy. I don't know how this year has gotten away from me, but it absolutely has. Then again, I think most years I feel this way in December. It's been a good year, and I'm thankful for all of the wonderful things that have happened this year, but wow, it seems like each year passes faster than the previous these days.

Enough of that! I'm really nearing the end of my 39 Blocks Before Baby project, which is astounding to me. It felt so big, like it wasn't really possible, but I'm in the home stretch for sure at this point, with just a few more blocks to go after this week's two.

Ribbon Star
This star just screamed out for the use of a directional fabric, and the Joel Dewberry woodgrain print worked perfectly to frame this star up nicely. This star is another paper-pieced one, but it's fairly straightforward and forgiving, using four templates to create the ribbon effect around the star.

Basketweave Star
This paper-pieced star has been on my quilty bucket list pretty much since I started sewing, so I'm glad to finally tackle it. It was great to save toward the end of the project as well, because all I had to cut fresh were the background pieces - I had plenty of stringy scraps for the rest of the block! I really love this block, and definitely want to make more of them. Eventually. You know, when I don't have a newborn or something :)

Don't forget, if you love these blocks, you can get the patterns by subscribing to the Epic Sampler BOM Club, where you receive 3 new block patterns per month. All of the blocks from my 39 Blocks for Baby project are included in your subscription. You can find out more about the club right here. Have a great week everyone!

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, my American friends! Do you have big plans? I know I do, but I also know that being this pregnant sure is changing the way I'm going to be able to execute said plans. I love cooking Thanksgiving, it's one of my favorite days of the year, but I know I'm going to need to be a bit more willing than usual to ask for help. Not my strong suit, but I know that turkey is not going to get in the oven this year from my two hands, that's for sure! I did manage to get through two more blocks this week, in spite of the impending holiday craziness, here's hoping I can keep up this pace and manage to get the rest of these blocks done throughout the busy holiday season!

HRT Star
This block I feel a little bit ambivalent about - I think I'm not loving the placement of the light teal, looking at the block critically and trying to understand what I'm not digging. Maybe I'd like it a bit better if the light gray were also a shade of teal, so it felt like those sections came together a little bit better? I'm not sure, but I do know that this gray pindot from Brigitte Heitland's Modern Background Paper collection is the kind of perfect pindot that you want in every color and in large amounts!

Star of AwesomeYou know you're running out of block names when you come up with one like this ;) I've been working mostly without a dark fuchsia in my blocks, because I didn't love the dark fuchsia I had shopped my stash and found, so when I was going through a pile of fabrics that needed to be bolted and put away and came across this gorgeous Yuwa print, I figured it was a sign that I needed to use it in this great block. I'm so glad I did, I think it plays so well against the medium fuchsia Denyse Schmidt Ladder Dot print in the center, not to mention the beautiful teals. This block is definitely going in the favorites column.Don't forget, if you love these blocks, you can get the patterns by subscribing to the Epic Sampler BOM Club, where you receive 3 new block patterns per month. All of the blocks from my 39 Blocks for Baby project are included in your subscription. You can find out more about the club right here. Have a great week everyone!

Getting ever closer to my goal, this week's two new blocks bring me to a total of 33! I've officially made more blocks than the number of weeks pregnant I am, so the end is in sight! Yay!

Kapow Star
This star first made its debut in the summer 2014 issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited, in beautiful Modern Solids. It's one of my favorite minis in the history of ever, and lives in my sewing room where I love to look up at it. I resized it for the Epic Sampler Block of the Month Club (it was initially a 24" star, and for the club it's an 18" star), and got right to it with my pile of scraps and remaining fabric for my quilt. While this star looks crazy intense, it's broken down into templates that really make it a lot easier than it seams. And without a single Y seam to boot, in spite of some of the tricky shapes you create! Definitely a great block, and a personal favorite of mine.

Cat CornersFunny story. When you're paper piecing, you often can do some interesting and different things with your pattern pieces to yield completely different blocks than perhaps the pattern you're following. Even when it's your own pattern. So this block is actually the same pieces at the Cat Corners block in the Epic Sampler Block of the Month Club, but I sewed the quarter-units together in the reverse, so I wound up with a completely different block. I didn't realize it until after I'd pressed the whole thing and removed all the papers, so I decided that was a sign to just stick with it as is, so that's the plan for now. Just goes to show you, "mistakes" really can be just "design choices" ;) You can check out the "original" plan for this block on the Epic Sampler BOM page, about halfway down. It's on the left side of the quilt.Don't forget, if you love these blocks, you can get the patterns by subscribing to the Epic Sampler BOM Club, where you receive 3 new block patterns per month. All of the blocks from my 39 Blocks for Baby project are included in your subscription. You can find out more about the club right here. Have a great week everyone!

Another week of making blocks brings me even closer to my goal of all 39 blocks before baby arrives. I think at this point in my pregnancy, I feel pretty ready - stuff-wise and mentally, at least - so making these blocks in my free time really helps the time pass by a little bit faster. This week brings two more stars to the sampler, the Faceted Star (previously seen as my Dark Star quilt in the Winter 2014 issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited) and the Love Wins Star.

Faceted Star
When I first made this block for Modern Quilts Unlimited, I used strictly solids, and really loved the results, so it was fun to get to remake this block using strictly prints and see what a different vibe it had. I love the crazy haywire yellow print, which sadly is missing a selvage, and my pregnancy brain is keeping me from recalling what collection it came from (Riley Blake something or another I think), but I really love the way that the crazy stripe brings added movement to the frame around the center star.

Love Wins Star

This festive star was one I initially made for the Love Wins Bee over the summer, and it was so interesting to sew this up in a more limited color scheme. Speaking of stars with different vibes, it just goes to show how much the color and fabric selection can absolutely change a block! I love this color combo, of the fresh teal and yellow, so I'm really pleased with how this one came together.

Don't forget, if you love these blocks, you can get the patterns by subscribing to the Epic Sampler BOM Club, where you receive 3 new block patterns per month. All of the blocks from my 39 Blocks for Baby project are included in your subscription. You can find out more about the club right here. Have a great week everyone!

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